Harness-saddle.



No. 7|4,870. Pter'l'tod Dec. 2, |902.

J. J. CREEDUN.

HARNESS sAnnLE.

(Application filed July 12, 1901.) (llo Model.)

TH: Ncnms PETERS co4 vNcfaLITNQ, wAsHmnmN. n. c.

UTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOI-IN J. CREEDON, OF MOLINE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO HERBERT W. COOPER, OF MOLINE, ILLINOIS.

HARNESS-SADDLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 714,870, dated December 2, 1902.

Application filed July 12,1901. Serial No. 68,036.

To all wir/ont t may concern:

Beit known that I, JOHN J. CEEEDON, of Moline,in the county of Rock Island and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Harness-Saddles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in harness-saddles, and has for its object to provide a simplified and improved construction in the means whereby the skirts or those members of the harness which connect the saddlepad with the belly-band are detaehably united with the harness-saddle.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claim, and the same Will be readily understood from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure 1 is a top plan view of a harnesssaddle and attached parts embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation, with parts in longitudinal sections, ofthe same. Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. 2 of a modied construction.

Referring to the drawings, 1 1 designate the two saddle-pads, made of the usual shape and general construction and united at their upper ends by means of a reduced portion 2, and 8 designates as a Whole the yoke, which is secured to overlie the meeting end portions of the pads 1 1 and carries the usual checkrein-,hook 4. Between the pads 1 1 and the yoke and connected parts is interposed the usual housing or saddle strap 5, which desirably is of a length to extend at each end somewhat beyond the ends of the saddle-pads, as indicated at 6.

Describing now more particularly the means whereby the skirt members are secured to the harness-saddle, which feature constitutes the present invention, 7 7 designate jockeyplates, each constructed to underlap and extend at its upper end beneath the end of the yoke, as indicated at 8, the extreme end of each jockey-plate being apertured and secured to the body of the pad by means of a screw 9 inserted therethrough and into the pad, as indicated clearly in the drawings. As a means of securing the jockey-plate to the lower end of the yoke in such a manner (No model.)

as to ador-d a certain amount of flexibility or hinge motion, the plate 7 is provided in its outer surface with a transversely-eXtending groove 10, and the meeting end of the yoke is provided with a round transverse bal'- like portion l1, arranged to rest within said groove lO. Immediately above the bar portion of the yoke and the grooved portion of the jockey -plate, respectively, are formed apertures or slots l2 13, which register with each other when the parts are united.

le designates as a Whole a locking-plate which is arranged to rest upon the jockeyplate and is provided at its upper end with a hook member l5, suitably shaped to extend down through the openings l2 13 of the, yoke and jockey-plate and provided at its extreme end with a lip 16, which underlies that part of the jockey-plate forming the margin of the aperture 13 and prevents disengagement of the locking-plate except bya movement produced by lifting up its opposite end. That portion of the locking end of the plate which overlies the bar 11 is grooved or suitably shaped to receive said bar, as indicated at 17, so that what amounts to a hinge connection is formed between the jockey-plate and ,the overlying locking-plate on the one side and the yoke upon the other.

Through the central portion of the lockingplate is formed an aperture 18 to accommodate the shank 2O of the terret-ring 19, which shank is threaded into the pad-iron 20 of the saddle-pad in the usual manner, and thus serves to secure the locking-plate rigidly to the jockey-plate. The lower end of the jockeyplate is suitably formed to provide a loop or socket 21, adapted to receive the end of the skirt 22, and through the upper side of said loop portion is formed an aperture 23, through which extends a stud 24, formed integrally upon the lower side of the locking-plate 14, said studs being of suitable length to extend entirely through the socket portion of the jockey-plate, and thus through the inserted end of the skirt 22, which is suitably apertured to receive said stud. The lower side 25 of the stud 24 is suitably curved to facilitate its entrance and engagement with the skirt after the opposite end of the jockeyplate has been engaged with the yoke, While IOS the opposite or upper side 26 is made somewhat concave, as indicated, to insure a more positive engagement between said stud and the skirt and to obviate any tendency of the strain upon the skirt to lift or force the stud outwardly.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that the yoke and jockey-plate are securely united by what amounts to a hinge connection and at the saine time the skirt secureiy attached to the saddle-pad by the simple insertion and adjustment of the lockingplate to a position and subsequent screwing in of the terret-ring. By means of this construction not only is the time required to assemble the parts very materially lessened, but the use of independent screws or bolts for attaching the skirts to theharness-saddle is obviated and the consequent accidental loss and coming loose of such parts entirely avoided. The construction, furthermore, is such that the parts may be disconnected with the utmost facility Without the use of any tools, since the terret-ring maybe unscrewed by hand, thereby releasing the locking-plate, so that it may be lifted out and the parts readjusted or repaired with the greatest facility.

Although I deem the construction hereinbefore described, in which the stud 24, which engages the skirt, is made integral with the locking-plate, preferable, yet it will be obvious that this stud may be made as a separate member and the locking-plate employed as a means of positively preventing its accidental Working loose and displacement. I have accordingly shown in Fig. 3 a modification in which 24 designates the stud, made in the form of an ordinary screw inserted through and threaded into the padlower end of the locking-plate the -j ockey-plate iron, While the 14' is made smooth upon its under side and arranged to underlie the outer end of said screwstud. In other respects the construction is substantially identical with that hereinbefore described and need not, therefore, be further detailed.

1While I have herein described what I deem to be preferred embodiments of my inven-A tion, yet it will be obvious that the details thereof may be varied to a certain extent without departing from the spirit of my invention. I do not, therefore, wish to be'limited to the precise details of construction shown except to the extent that the same are made the subject of a specific claim.

I claim as my invention- In a harness-saddle, the combination with the back pads and the yoke arranged to overlie said pads, of a jockey-plate socketed to receive the harness-skirt and arranged to extend at its upper end beneath the end of the yoke, interlitting hinge-like portions upon said meeting parts, apertures formed through said parts in register With each other and means for detachably uniting said jockeyplate and yoke and for simultaneously securing the skirt, comprising a locking-plate provided with a hooked portion arranged to extend through said registering apertures and provided also at its end remote from the hooked portion with a stud adapted to extend through the upper side of the jockey-plate and into the subjacent skirt, and a terretring inserted through said locking-plate and threaded into a subjacent part of the pad, substantially as described.

JOHN J. CREEDON.

Witnesses:

H. I-I. PARKS, FRANK KEHoE. 

